Today’s media is filled with both high- and low-quality advertising content. Everywhere you look, you’ll see aggressive advertising campaigns with flashy banners , video overlays, and pop-up apps .
But there’s a small problem: sometimes they disrupt the relative proportions of a web page’s content and advertising content.
That’s when banner blindness appears . What are we talking about? It happens when users ignore ads that appear on the web because they find them annoying .
The truth is that this phenomenon often occurs unintentionally. It can be so powerful that users tend to ignore all content that resembles a banner ad , even if it isn’t.
The reason is more than obvious: Users are bombarded with excessive amounts of advertising, so they eventually develop indifference and rejection towards them .
And there’s more! Numerous studies have found that users have not only developed banner blindness , but they also ignore text-based advertising on the web.
It’s a phenomenon worthy of analysis! We’ll tell you some details.
Why do users choose to ignore information in banners ?
The early days of the internet were a shock , and even things like banner ads were irresistible. Now, a few decades later, banner ads are considered the most annoying part of the internet experience . They’re so annoying, in fact, that users trip over themselves trying to unsubscribe.
However, people who access your website will continue to behave like banner blindness when any of these situations occur…
- Predictable placement: Your ad is displayed where your users expect it and instinctively know what to ignore.
- Boring design: If an ad doesn’t spark the user’s curiosity, or there’s no call to action, then it’s more likely to be ignored.
- Overuse of banners: If your visitors encounter ads frequently, they’re likely to leave.
- Out-of-context ads: If banners don’t display information related to your website, they’re likely not going to be of interest to your visitors.
This is how banner blindness destroys the UX experience
Chances are, even you’ve ignored several banner ads while browsing the internet. So, with that in mind, here’s how banner blindness destroys the user experience:
- Pop-up ads cover up the content that users actually want to see.
- The operating system and browser mimic your website’s user interface to trick users into clicking on it.
- When you don’t say what the ad is for .
- When ads float and move around the interface.
- The flashing advertising .
- Automatic playback of music and video.
Have you experienced any of the above? If so, don’t worry! Things are changing these days, and website usability is a priority .
This is true because, in general, people are on the internet with a specific purpose. They’re looking for information and will do everything possible to find it. Nothing will distract a user who’s looking for something specific.
On the other hand, it’s worth emphasizing one thing: you need to monetize those ads. Therefore, in one way or another, banner blindness affects your interests .
You can reduce this phenomenon through intensive analysis of user behavior when browsing your website.
It would be great to know in advance how users consume your page’s content. Right? As a result, you’d know where to place each element of your page layout and get users to take the desired action.
Banner blindness also applies to CTAs.
CTAs, or calls to action, are no exception to this reality. Let’s imagine the following scenario: you can create the most creative banner in the world, but at the end of the day, it might be surpassed by a less elaborate ad with a powerful CTA .
This is because banner blindness doesn’t just apply to advertisers; it applies to anyone who operates a website. On the one hand, it’s a good rule of thumb to make your website’s CTAs large and prominent, as they’re more likely to be noticed and acted upon. But on the other hand, when certain website elements are overly promotional, you’ll suffer from banner blindness .
So, you need to test. That’s the key. Ask yourself: What will make someone want to interact with this element? And run A/B tests before publishing.
How to avoid banner blindness ?
Now that you know what banner blindness is , a big question arises: how to avoid it? This is a very legitimate concern, as you’ll want the ads displayed on your website to generate conversions in order to monetize them.
To comply with this you must follow the following recommendations:
- Review your ad placement: This involves placing your ads in unconventional locations. Experiment with eye-catching elements as much as possible.
- Use relevant content: As an advertiser, you must understand your audience’s needs and be able to offer a relevant solution, including keywords that reflect your audience’s interests.
- Test non-standard ad sizes, colors, and formats: Choose non-traditional, memorable placements to improve user recall.
- Optimize for mobile: Make sure your page is mobile-friendly. You can try reducing clutter by serving fewer ads.
- Follow your passion: Create content about something you’re passionate about and build a community of loyal followers. Offer the best form of native advertising by providing your audience with interesting information.
As you can see, although banner blindness is a negative reality, you can also turn it around by finding ways to keep your audience from running away from your banners .